(Box Score) Goshen, IN — Following Madonna University’s 1-0 win over the Goshen College men’s soccer team in Wednesday night’s NAIA Region VIII Championship at the Goshen College Soccer Complex, Leafs head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj was enigmatically happy.
Moments earlier, his team had watched the visiting Crusaders hoist the regional championship trophy overhead, gleefully screaming at the good number of fans that made the trip south from Livonia, Michigan.
The decision gave Madonna its first-ever trip to next week’s NAIA National Championships, while Goshen (12-8-2, 5-3) had narrowly missed out on a second straight trip to the big dance and fifth appearance overall.
As Goshen players dejectedly thanked a crowd of over 1,200 Leafs’ supporters Wednesday night, Mounsithiraj held his head high.
“There is really no reason to feel sorry for us,” he said. “Are we disappointed that we lost tonight? Of course. But we’ve been able to create these opportunities quite often over the past few years, and that says a lot about our program. We’ve established a level of credibility to where we expect to be in these games and we expect to win them. I think our program is only going to continue to get stronger, and we want to have a similar opportunity next year. That is exciting.”
Perhaps detached from the split-second moment, Mounsithiraj’s comments did provide a poignant reminder of just how successful Leafs teams have become in recent history. As fans bid farewell to Goshen’s eight seniors, they were thanking the 47-year program’s all-time winningest class, as the squad collected 55 wins over the past four years.
Back-to-back Mid-Central Conference Co-Championships were part of the mix in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, with an MCC Tournament title garnered in ’06. Wednesday’s match marked the Leafs’ fifth regional appearance in the last four seasons, while last year’s run to the national championships ended a 29-year drought from the 1977 team’s appearance.
Even in defeat Wednesday night, Mounsithiraj did not lose sight of the bigger picture.
“It’s fine to be disappointed that we lost, we all are,” Mounsithiraj said. “When you have an opportunity right in front of you, you want to grab it. But Madonna (14-3-2 overall, 10-1-1 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference) is a very good side. They’ve only lost three games all year, for cat’s sake. I was pleased with our effort tonight. It just didn’t happen. That doesn’t make getting to this point any less special.”
What was special Wednesday night was the atmosphere at the GC Soccer Complex, as Goshen fans turned out in record numbers — along with a fan bus from Madonna — to effectively turn the stadium into a nuthouse. It was Madonna that used the high energy most vicariously, however, opening play with a strong surge that put Goshen on its collective heels.
The Crusaders were rewarded just 11:30 into play, when forward Doran Drai took a pass from teammate Makesi Lewis and held off sophomore Kyle Stiffney on the far side of the goal box. Touching the ball three times, Drai wheeled around and fired a shot on goal from the flattest of angles, bending the ball just inside the near post for what would be the game winner.
Goshen’s majority of real estate in stadium seating grew quiet, while the Crusaders’ side went crazy.
“Kyle was marking (Drai) and he just turned around and took a shot from a really poor angle,” Mounsithiraj said. “I’m not sure how he got it in there, but it was a great shot. (Senior goalkeeper) Brad Graber didn’t have any time to react.”
Stiffney may have reacted differently to Drai’s movements had it not been for injury, as Stiffney experienced an increased level of pain in his right quad earlier in the week during practice. A season-long ailment, Goshen College head athletic trainer Linda Kaminskis said that Stiffney suffered a significant tear of his right quadricep muscle, only for that injury to worsen in the most inopportune of times.
“We talked about him not playing, and we gave him all the options and scenarios,” Kaminskis said. “We wrapped him up tightly and he gutted it out. That’s the type of kid he is.”
With Stiffney noticeably limping and favoring the left side on the majority of ball playing, Goshen was somehow able to tighten up in the back following Drai’s score. Madonna continued to control the majority of possession for the first period, however, taking an eight to four lead in total shots at the break.
“We talked before the game that we didn’t want to give up an early goal to Madonna, because we knew it would be tough to play catch up,” Mounsithiraj said. “Of course, when it happened, we had to have the mentality to stay patient and look for our chances. In the second half, I was really pleased that our guys never lost sight of playing good soccer. We never started to panic and just kick the ball around. We had some chances.”
In almost a complete reversal of fortune, Goshen began to dictate play in the second period, eventually out-shooting Madonna by a five to three count — and a five to nothing difference in second-half corner kicks — drawing increasingly audible reactions from the sellout crowd.
Goshen’s first great chance occurred just minutes into the second half, when sophomore Scott Wilkinson took a through ball on the far side of the field and blasted a shot from just over 20 yards out, only for the ball to sail just over the top of the crossbar.
Perhaps the most aesthetic opportunity came midway through the half, when sophomore Jordan Delp volleyed an attempted clear out by the Crusader defense to unleash an all-out rifled one-touch on the Madonna frame.
Sadly for Delp, junior teammate Cody Felton was standing about eight yards in front of his shot, flinching at the last second before the ball tattooed him square in the back. An eerie thud preceded the ball flying harmlessly out of Madonna’s 18-yard box.
“Jordan’s shot was a goal for sure,” Mounsithiraj said. “We were kind of out of place trying to push forward after the ball was batted around a bit, and Cody just happened to be right in the line of fire.”
Madonna’s luck would not change on this night, as Goshen’s final two opportunities — statistically speaking — may have been its best.
With just over 10 minutes to play senior Tony Janzen finally broke through a sturdy Crusader defense, only to find himself one on one with Madonna senior goalkeeper Kristofer Lyons.
Forcing Lyons to charge out, Janzen slipped a ball to the far post.
It missed wide by approximately three inches.
Now desperate for a score, the Leafs appeared to get some help after drawing a corner kick with just over three minutes to play. Mounsithiraj brought everyone up — including Graber from his own goal — for a chance at the equalizer.
Sophomore Luke Woodworth sent a perfect ball into the box, only for Stiffney — torn quad muscle and all — to leap above everyone else for the header attempt.
His shot was on frame.
It hit the crossbar before being cleared.
“You know, you can’t complain about our opportunities,” Mounsithiraj said. “Tony beat everyone but the post on his run, and Kyle made a great effort on our last corner. I thought we played really well in the second half, unfortunately someone else won today.”
Janzen, Delp and Stiffney all finished with two shots apiece to lead Goshen, while juniors David Shenk and Garret Osterloo accounted for the team’s two shots on goal. Graber finished with four saves on the evening, closing out a very good, albeit truncated, goalkeeping career.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure if we could even get to this point about midway through the year,” Mounsithiraj said. “We had so many injuries. We lose our starting goalkeeper and have to put a field player back there. (Senior) Joel Gonzalez gets hurt in the fifth game of the year and he’s done. It just shows the quality of our program that we can carry on through things like that and still have a chance to win.”
Goshen will officially release its post-season award winners early next week, putting a cap on yet another outstanding season.
“I’m happy for our guys, I’m happy for our fans and I’m happy for our institution,” Mounsithiraj said. “We’ve worked really hard and we’ve been successful. We have a lot of young players that are key pieces of what we do, so we’re expecting to have chances in the years ahead. The best compliment that our guys can get is that people expect us to be here. They expect us to be in the top of our league, expect us to compete for a regional championship. That says a lot about our program, and the people who are a part of it."
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Sophomore Jordan Delp 
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